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University: Comments 'wild and irresponsible'

TIMOTHY James, the man behind the bid to sink Penzance as the site for the
Cornwall University, has had his comments "rubbished" by Exeter
University's Vice-Chancellor, Sir Ceoffrey Holland.

Commenting on Mr. James' letter in last week's Cornishman, Sir Geoffrey
says : "Mr. James' assertions become ever more wild and irresponsible.
It is time your readers had some facts.

"Firstly, the petition. In the course of several meetings with the Millennium
Commission they never once commented on the Penwith petition in the terms
Mr. James ascribes to them. What they did say was that letters of support
for our project far out-weighed those against. Moreover, it would not be surprising
if many young people did sign the petition, since the project will dramatically
improve their opportunities and prospects.

Trereife

"So far as the choice of Trereife is concerned, your readers will recall
Exeter University invited proposals from all over Cornwall and examined 48
resulting suggestions, including four from Kerrier. The unanimous recommendation
of our Steering Group, with its majority of members from within Cornwall,
was for Trereife and that was the unanimous decision of our University Council."

Sir Geoffrey continued: "Mr. James is unwilling to face the fact that
Camborne School of Mines must relocate and that is has no secure future in
Cornwall unless it does so. Its present building was designed for about 100
undergraduates on one course. There are now three times that many, on 16 courses,
including postgraduates. Moreover, CSM is now becoming a world-class research
institution. For that it needs world-class laboratories and workshops, which
at present it does not have. As CSM is an integral part of Exeter university,
it is for our University Council, and no-one else's to decide where it should
relocate. The Council's choice has been made. It is Trereife.

"According to Mr. James our proposals 'by definition have lost Cornwall
£100 million in lost funding.' Utter rubbish. There is no crock of gold
labelled '£100 million for Cornwall.' Cornwall has to fight every inch
of the way to secure funding for any project. That is what we have been doing
on Cornwall's behalf. Nothing we have done or are doing has stopped others
from doing the same for their projects. Nothing that has happened has deprived
any other project of a penny. It is much more likely that it is the activities
of Mr. James and his friends that are standing in Cornwall's Way.

"Finally, Mr. James suggests a relocation of CSM to Penzance 'would
lose Penwith taxpayers £1 million'. Rubbish again. Trereife is Exeter
University's choice for its campus for all its activities in Cornwall, not
for CSM alone, just as Pool and Cornwall College are Plymouth University's
base. Exeter's campus will bring jobs and a large cash injection into the
local economy. CSM alone will bring £12 million every year - not a bad
return on Penwith's investment. But it will be much more besides - a magnet
for inward investment and a resource without equal in Cornwall to help existing
firms and individuals to grow their enterprises.

Document preparation: Chris Salter, Original
Think-tank, Cornwall, United Kingdom.
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Document Reference: <URL:http://www.originalthinktank.org.uk/archive/uoc/news9804.html>
Last modification: 14th January 2002
Last information content change: 12th November 1998